"The Crow: Dark Game"

Chapter 1: "Play in the Shadows"

Disclaimer: Teen Titans, The Crow, and Yu-Gi-Oh are not mine by any means. TT belongs to DC and Warner Brothers, The Crow is the property of James O'Barr, and Yu-Gi-Oh is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi.

Author's note: This is a crossover between the Wolf God's "Yu-Gi-Crow," an AU Crow X-over starring Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi and my TT/Crow X-over "Black Robin." We're actually collaborating on the project, and we hope you like what our combined talents give you. Like the first "Black Robin," the beginning and end of each chapter will have a rock song, the genres being heavy metal, alternative metal, and some gothic rock.

"Do you remember love?

There was no love!

"There was a time when we used to touch not only ourselves

There was a time we used to kiss the night goodbye.

"But this was another senseless time

Our love is stranded in an empty water glass.

"You told me to love me the rest of my life

Our love is gone and sometimes I use cry.

"Do you remember love?

There was no love!

"Go far away

Come close to me

I hate your nearness

Please hold me tight

Give me a kiss

It burns like acid

And it freezes me.

"There was a time when we used to touch not only ourselves

There was a time we used to kiss the night goodbye.

"But this was another senseless time

Our love is stranded in an empty water glass.

"You told me to love me the rest of my life

Our love is gone and sometimes I use cry."

Succubus - "Master of Misery"

[A flat in the city]

Two years, Tim Drake, aliases Aidan Draper and Robin, thought. Two years since I died.

Two years ago, Robin had been the leader of the Teen Titans, a five-person squad of teenage super heroes. However, that had all ended when Slade had come into their lives.

Robin was naturally competitive, whether in playing games with Cyborg or in outsmarting criminals. After Starfire had been hurt in one of Slade's last undertakings, Robin's determination to beat him had turned into a full-blown obsession. That was it, he had decided, there was no way he would allow Slade to get away with hurting the one person he loved beyond all else.

To that end, he had disguised himself as a super-thief named Red X, creating a skull-faced black costume that enabled him to disable the other Titans. He had regretted it, but it was all to catch Slade, so he could live with himself. Or so he thought.

The other Titans had discovered his deception. Slade had known the truth from the very beginning. And Starfire --- his crimson-haired, emerald-eyed, golden-skinned angel --- had shown him something that he'd never wanted to see.

[Flashback]

"Whoever Slade is, you and he are . . . similar," Starfire said. "Slade did not trust you, and you did not trust us." Then she departed, leaving Robin alone with the warring guilt and hatred growing in his soul.

[End Flashback]

He was not like Slade. He could not be like Slade. He hated Slade, Slade who had always been one step ahead, Slade who had harmed his love. In the end, it was for that love that he had died.

Slade had threatened the Titans with a chronoton detonator, a bomb that would freeze time permanently, in layman's terms. The Titans had hunted the bomb down, and Robin's anger and hatred had gotten the better of him. Finally, he had been lured away from the other Titans and it was then that Slade had revealed his true objectives.

He wanted Robin as his apprentice, his successor, his heir. Robin had refused --- until Slade revealed that he had infected the other Titans with nano-probes that would kill them if activated. Knowing that, Robin had no choice but to comply with Slade . . . until he could find a way to turn the tables.

It was during his fight with the Titans that he had truly realized how much he loved Starfire. He hadn't hesitated in fighting Beast Boy, Cyborg, or Raven, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt Starfire. She had been willing to stand down and let him kill her, for she could not live in a world where they would be enemies.

Robin couldn't bear a world where they would be enemies, either. He had confronted and fought Slade, and when the Titans had showed up to help him, Slade had turned his fury upon them. Starfire was to be the first of his victims, but Robin had thrown himself in front of her, taking the fatal blast that was meant for her. He had died in her arms.

But he was not dead now.

After a year of restlessness in the afterlife, the crow had returned Robin to this plane of existence. He was a corporeal ghost, unable to die and feel pain. He could heal from any wound, and his agility and strength had increased to unnatural levels. With these powers, he had hunted Slade, slain his most trusted underlings, and had finished Slade himself.

However, he had not been able to avoid coming face-to-face with his onetime teammates again. He and Starfire had confessed their love for each other, and after one sweet night of being together again, they were parted. By killing Slade, Robin had accomplished what he had come back to Earth to do and was thus required to return to the afterlife.

He couldn't stay there. He couldn't remain separated from Starfire.

So, defying death once again, he had returned to the living world. Now, he was the city's dark guardian angel, an undying avenger. Also, he had hacked into the city's computers and created an alias for himself: Aidan Draper. It wasn't that hard, he'd just taken his records, altered some things, and put a new name on them. He'd gotten the flat through usage of the money from the trust fund Bruce Wayne had set up for him after taking him under his wing, and it had been a considerable sum.

He would periodically return to Titans Tower and watch Starfire from the shadows. He would listen to her lovely voice as she talked at his grave, assuming that he was still among the angels.

Each time he saw her, he simply wanted to run to her, to hold her in his arms and never let go. But they could not be together, not when he wasn't truly alive.

He looked at the picture of Starfire that rested on his nightstand and traced her face.

"Koriand'r . . ."

[Domino City]

Yugi Muto, a.k.a. Yami Yugi, was sitting in his room above the Game Shop once run by his grandfather Solomon. It had been five years since Seto Kaiba had murdered him and his grandfather in retaliation for refusing to give up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. Two years later, the crow had brought him back from the dead as Yami Yugi, a living corpse that could not be killed by any mortal. After killing Kaiba, Yami had returned to the other side, only to be returned to Earth by the Skull Cowboy. Apparently, he still had a great task to complete.

So until the time comes, I kill time by protecting the city, he thought. After I finish this task, will I get to stay here, or will I have to return to the afterlife?

During his time back on Earth, Yugi had reconnected with the one girl he had truly loved: Téa Gardner. He wanted to be with her, but that would not be an easy task. Not only did he have to worry about future evil, he also had to worry about Officer Albrecht, who was determined to put him behind bars for his vigilante activities.

Yugi chuckled. "He couldn't understand."

"No, he certainly couldn't," the Skull Cowboy agreed.

"What brings you here?" Yami Yugi asked.

"I just came by to warn you that trouble is on its way," the Skull Cowboy replied. He caught the expectant look in Yami's purple eyes. "No, it has nothing to do with your personal destiny, but at this point, your path will intertwine with that of another."

"Another?" Yami echoed.

"Yes," the Skull Cowboy confirmed. "You didn't think you were the only one to be resurrected by the crow's powers. There is another like you, in a city in America."

"Who is he?" Yami Yugi asked.

"You'll find out when you meet him," the Skull Cowboy replied. "I can tell you this, though: Did you drift off to sleep a while before I found you?"

Yugi flashed back on the dream.

[Dream]

The sky was black, with midnight-blue clouds and dark violet lightning flashing in them.

Crimson fire consumed everything in its path, only to be doused by rain. But it was no rain of this world.

It was blood rain.

Then the clouds parted to reveal a blood-red moon. A shadow loomed over the ruined city, laughing evilly as monstrosities beyond human imagination pillaged it.

[End Dream]

"Yes," Yugi replied.

"That was no dream," the Skull Cowboy said. "It was a prophecy, a glimpse of things to come. Unless you stop it."

Yugi realized what he had to do. "Then I must travel to America." He paused. "But I don't want to leave Téa alone. And how am I supposed to go anywhere without drawing attention? After all, a guy painted up like a morbid clown is very attention-grabbing."

"I can take care of that," the Skull Cowboy replied. He waved a hand over Yugi's face. "Look in the mirror."

Yami looked, and gasped. "The makeup. It's gone!"

"Not quite," the Skull Cowboy corrected. "It's just a glamour spell to prevent anyone from seeing your true face."

"Thanks," Yami said. He went to his dresser and pulled out a second studded belt, placing it on so that it slanted on his hips. He put a studded collar around his neck and buckled wristbands, along with crisscrossing chains around his wrists. "Now for the finishing touch."

Yami Yugi found a golden pyramid-shaped pendant held on by a chain. It was actually a puzzle, one that his grandfather had given him years ago from one of his archaeological digs. It had taken him years to solve, but he'd finally solved it. However, he had had no time to enjoy it, as Kaiba had killed him and his grandfather before he could show him the finished puzzle.

Yami Yugi put the pendant on around his neck, completing the ensemble.

"You're dressed to kill," the Skull Cowboy said.

"And that's what I'll most likely be doing," Yugi said regretfully.

"Save your regrets for the innocents who suffer in the shadow of evil," the Skull Cowboy admonished.

[The next night]

Tim Drake stared out into the city through the large glass windows of his room. It was time to go to work.

The false back wall of his walk-in closet slid back, revealing a secret chamber that contained his modified Red X costume. After putting it on, he slid the studded bracelets on, fastened the buckles of his boots, buckled his belt, and threw the cape on his shoulders. When he turned around, he released the glamour that disguised him as an ordinary boy.

But he was no ordinary boy now. His face was deathly white, with black makeup ringing his eyes and coloring his lips. An evil smile curled from the corners of those lips and vertical slashes adorned his eyes.

The Black Robin slid the window open and leaped out, his crow flying behind him.

[Mikanus Industries office building]

Jason Mikanus was a very lucky man. Of course, it wasn't so many years ago that he hadn't been so lucky.

He'd started his life in the slums, the only child of a sixteen-year-old crack whore and a no-good bum who had ditched her after finding out that she was pregnant. His mother honestly tried to take care of him, but she was too busy screwing for money and then blowing most of it on cocaine to pay that much attention to him. Finally, they'd taken him away and he ended up in the system, drifting from foster home to foster home.

On his 18th birthday, he'd done some digging on his roots. He wanted to find out who the hell was the bum that'd left his mother with him. He later found out that "the bum" was Nikolai Mikanus, who ran a business empire rivaling Wayne Enterprises! His sources in the criminal underworld had mentioned that Nikolai was one of the biggest crime bosses in the city.

Yes, criminal underworld. When he turned 13, Jason had realized that he needed some extra spending money if he was going to get by. So he took to mugging any person that happened to pass him by on the streets. A gang called the Blockbusters, impressed with his ruthlessness, recruited him and soon they were getting their hands on some serious cash. He soon rose to being second-in-command of the Blockbusters. However, his ruthlessness and ambition knew no bounds, and he ultimately forced the leader out of the gang and took over.

After finding out the identity of the man who had gotten his mother pregnant with him, Jason had organized a raid on Nikolai's place of business. He was going to make his father pay him back for all the years he and his mother had spent dirt poor while he had been living on easy street.

And he did. He'd shoved Nikolai out the top window of his own company building and the bastard had become just a stain on the concrete. After that was done with, he'd taken over Mikanus Industries and built it into a corporate giant, taking it farther than even his father could have ever hoped to do. Jason had also taken over his father's criminal empire, also taking it farther than his father could have.

He'd even organized a cadre of top assassins called the Nightmare Soldiers, each one possessing a unique talent, whether it was something as mundane as top-notch fighting prowess or something not so mundane like a superhuman ability. Yes, they were the best, and they were on his payroll.

Mikanus chuckled to himself. Of course, none of this would be possible without some extra backing.

"I'm glad you remember who gave you all this," a dark voice whispered, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "You will stay with me, Jason Mikanus, and I shall give you even more."

"Yes," Mikanus said, "Master Thartoc."

[In the city]

Robin leaped across the rooftops as the crow followed, hunting down an assassin. He didn't know much about this assassin, but only because there wasn't that much to be known --- not even the assassin's gender. All he knew was that the assassin was a powerful and ruthless killer.

It had all started when he'd checked out a crime scene. It had been a nice little house, and the owners had been a nice little family consisting of a neuroscientist, his wife the teacher, and their two young children. The assassin hadn't spared any of them.

While he'd been at the scene of the butchery, his mind had been wracked by painful visions. Fear, anger, and sorrow saturated the house. The worst was the glimpses of the assassin's mind that Robin had felt. Specifically, he'd felt nothing from the assassin; whoever it was saw it as little more than a job to be completed at all costs.

Of course, Robin hadn't been able to stay for very long. The police were coming by one more time, and he didn't need to get into it with them. They were on the same side, but the police didn't understand that; they thought he was little more than a dangerous vigilante.

He would find that assassin, though. And he would make sure that that evil person paid for what he or she had done.

The puzzling thing was that there had been no signs of breaking in. Nothing had been forced open or "tricked" open; it was as if the family had just opened the door for the assassin.

It could always be a telekinetic assassin, though, Robin thought. With telekinesis, you could open doors or kill people without touching anything.

Seeing through the crow's eyes, Robin saw someone walking toward a house. He couldn't get a clear look at that person, but he saw the person ring the bell.

A man in his late forties answered the bell. "Hello," he said to the person on the other side. "Do come in."

The person bowed politely and walked in.

Robin had a bad feeling about that person. Another vision wracked his mind again.

[Flashback]

The furniture, knocked aside and/or smashed. The neuroscientist, his wife the teacher, and their children, lying in pools of their own blood.

[End Flashback]

That was when the truth of the matter came rushing into his mind with the force of a tidal wave. That person the middle-aged man had let in was the assassin! And that poor man had no idea what sort of monster he had let into his home.

Robin leaped off the rooftop and at the front door, knocking it open and tumbling inside. The lights were out.

So the assassin's cut off the power, Robin thought. He stalked through the house, extending his sixth sense to locate the assassin.

"Robin?" a familiar angelic voice said.

Robin turned to see Starfire. "Starfire? What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you, dearest Robin," Starfire replied.

"I'm so happy to see you," Robin said.

"Yes, I am happy to see you as well," Starfire said. "Now let us find this assassin." She paused. "Lead the way."

So Robin turned around and started walking. "I know the assassin's here somewhere."

"Perhaps the assassin is closer than you realize," Starfire said from behind him. From behind her back, she withdrew a blade and stalked toward Robin, ready to strike. She was certainly surprised when Robin turned around and kicked her into a wall.

"You need to work on your acting skills," Robin critiqued, his black lips curling into a smile.

"Starfire" snarled in rage and changed into a dark-haired woman in a black leather combat suit. She charged at Robin and began to pepper him with furious punches and kicks. He blocked each one, and retaliated with a vicious kick that sent her flying through a window. Robin leaped through said window after her and landed in a fighting crouch.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Why did you kill that neuroscientist and his family?"

"My employer wanted Mr. Ambrosa dead," the woman that had posed as Starfire replied. "Of course, his instructions were also that I keep myself from being found. If I'd let his family live, they surely would have identified me. Or perhaps not. I take so many shapes."

"Who are you?" Robin repeated.

"Mirage," the woman replied. She went at him again and they resumed fighting.

Damn, she's strong! Robin thought. Fast, too. Not quite superhuman, but enough to make me work at beating her.

But finally, he did beat her. She did a sweeping kick, knocking his feet out from under him, and ran. Robin got up and pursued her from the rooftops.

Mirage kept running until she neared a figure with spiky hair. A quick scan of his mind revealed who she needed to shift into.

"Oh, Yugi!" she said in her new disguise, clinging to him.

"Téa?" Yugi asked. "What's wrong?"

"This nutcase is chasing me!" Mirage/Téa replied, putting a good amount of fear in her voice. "I think he wants to kill me!"

"Don't worry, Téa," Yugi said. "I won't let him hurt you."

Just then, Robin leaped off the roof and landed in front of them. "Mirage. It's over. Your disguises won't save you."

"And nothing will save you," Yugi replied, glaring at Robin. He gently nudged Mirage behind him. "Don't worry, Téa. I'll protect you from him."

"That's the same trick she pulled on me," Robin said. "Don't fall for it!"

"Shut up," Yugi replied, his voice cold. "Enough of your lies. I won't let you hurt Téa."

"Are you stupid!?!" Robin asked. "She may look like Téa now, but she takes other forms, other identities!" He looked over Yugi's shoulder and saw Mirage about to impale Yugi with the same blade that she would have used to kill Robin.

However, Mirage wasn't prepared for Yugi to turn around, knock the knife out of her hand, and then twist the arm that hand was attached to behind her back.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked, his sharp violet eyes cold as ice. It was then that he began to change. His face turned a ghastly white and black makeup ringed his eyes and colored his lips in the exact same style as Robin's makeup.

Robin gasped. "What the --- How the ---"

"Surprised?" Yugi asked, chuckling darkly. Then to Mirage, "You might as well change to your true shape. Your disguise will not fool me."

Mirage shifted back to her true face.

"Who are you working for?" Robin asked.

"Someone a lot more powerful than you are, you little freak," Mirage replied scornfully. She elbowed Yugi hard enough for him to loosen his grip on her and then fled. Robin was about to give chase when Yugi stopped him.

"Don't bother," he said. "Not for the moment, anyway."

Robin took a good look at Yugi, who was also taking a good look at him.

Yugi was about 5'6" and had wildly spiked black hair tipped in red, along with spiky blond bangs. He was dressed in black, a sleeveless shirt and tight leather pants. He also wore a studded collar, two studded belts (the second slanted on his hips), buckled wristbands, crisscrossing chain bracelets, studded boots, and a golden pyramid-shaped pendant hanging from a chain around his neck.

Robin was small and lithe, with messy black hair. He was dressed in a form-fitting black suit with studded bracelets, a studded leather belt, buckled leather boots, and a cape around his shoulders. The only decoration the suit had was a red X on the left side.

"You're not the only one who has been resurrected by the crow's powers," Yugi replied. "I'm Yugi."

"I'm Robin."

"So you're the infamous Black Robin," the Skull Cowboy said. "Nice to meet you at last."

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

"I'm the Skull Cowboy. You could say I'm a guidance counselor for restless souls."

"Why'd you let Mirage go?" Robin asked Yugi.

"So many questions," Yugi replied. He chuckled briefly before his expression became serious again. "We have worse things to worry about than one shape-shifter. I saw into her mind. It wasn't so clear, as I only get random images or the person's immediate thoughts, but I saw enough to know that our worries are much greater. Have you dreamed at all, Robin?"

"Yes," Robin replied, remembering the dream. It had been filled with darkness, fire, blood, and devils.

"Then you know," Skull Cowboy said. "You know what we're truly up against. Mirage was just a harbinger."

"If that's true," Robin said, "then we're going to need serious help."

"Can you deal with the hallucination?

Can you steal the hallucination?

I can feel and hear all that you're thinking

Can you deal with the hallucination?

When I'm drowning in the sea, I am

When you're looking down at me, I am

When I'm walking in the streets, I am a bullet

When I'm looking and I find, I am

When I'm purer than the sky, I am

When I'm fucking with your mind, I am a bullet.

"In the eye, in the mirror, I am a black bullet

In the eye, in the mirror, I am . . .

Alone, alone in this all . . .

Alone, alone in this all.

"Deal with the hallucination

Can you deal with the hallucination?

"When I'm walking on the line, I am

When I think that I could kill, I am

When I think that I am love, I am

I am a black bullet!

"In the eye, in the mirror, I am . . .

In the eye, in the mirror, I am . . .

In the eye, in the mirror, I am a black bullet

In the eye, in the mirror, I am . . .

"Alone, alone in this all . . .

Alone, alone in this all.

"Can you deal with the hallucination?

Can you deal with the hallucination?

"Could you look me in the eye?

"In the eye, in the mirror, when ---

In the eye, in the mirror, I am ---

In the eye, in the mirror, I am a black bullet

In the eye, in the mirror, I am . . .

"Alone, alone in this all . . ."

Kidneythives - "Black Bullet"

End Notes: This is only the beginning. Robin and Yugi will join forces with the Teen Titans, which means Robin and Starfire will reunite once again. But will they be parted once more?

By the way, the Mirage in this fanfic is based on Mirage from the Teen Titans comics but they're not the same person.